Courses & Education

Skillshare vs. Udemy: Which One Is Best For Your Course?

Matthew Turner
Sep 20, 2023

One of the biggest decisions an online course creator has to make is which platform to choose for their online course.

There are tons of course platforms out there, which can make choosing one seem like a daunting task. To make this process a little simpler, we decided to create an article where we compare two of the largest online course platforms around: Skillshare and Udemy.

In this Skillshare vs. Udemy comparison, we’ll look at pricing, core features, the course setup process, and more for each of these platforms.

By the end of the article, you should have an in-depth understanding of each platform and a clear sense of whether one of them is right for your online course.

Now let’s dive into this Skillshare vs. Udemy comparison!

What is Skillshare?

Skillshare is an online learning community for creators, freelancers, and lifelong learners.

With dozens of categories covering the Creative, Business, Technology, and Lifestyle industries, there are thousands of classes to choose from.

What makes Skillshare different from a lot of other platforms is that a student purchases a subscription and then has access to any course they like. In this way, it’s like the Netflix of the online course world.

What is Udemy?

Udemy offers the largest collection of online courses, with 100,000+ available across dozens of categories, ranging from Design and Marketing to Personal Development and Health & Fitness.

Unlike Skillshare, students purchase a course on an individual basis.

The price of courses varies, but most are available for under $100.

And speaking of price…what does it cost you, the course creator, to join each platform?

The answer is nothing!

As a course creator, it costs you nothing to set up an account and create a course.

You can create one course or ten, and the cost to you remains zero.

The way you earn money does differ, though, and depending on how popular your course becomes, it could have a major impact on the income you generate.

Skillshare: What You Can Earn Each Month

As a Teacher on Skillshare, you earn money based on a royalty system.

Each month, between 30% and 50% of Skillshare’s total Premium Membership revenue goes to a royalty pool for teachers. The rest of the money goes toward marketing, website improvements, and keeping the Skillshare platform afloat.

And because Skillshare is a subscription-based service, the total pool does vary each month.

The more members Skillshare has, the bigger the pool for teachers.

The fewer members Skillshare has, the smaller the pool is.

However, the actual revenue you earn depends on the number of minutes your videos get watched.

This means that the more students you have watching your videos, the more money you earn.

So let’s say your courses account for 10% of ALL minutes watched by Premium students across the platform each month. The pool for the month is $150,000, meaning you earn $15,000.

It’s a simple and transparent process that Skillshare says earns its top teachers $3,000+ per month and those just starting out $200 (in their first month).

Udemy: What You Can Each Month

On Udemy, you can publish as many paid and free courses as you like. The money you earn depends on the actual number of courses you sell. The breakdown is:

Instructor Promotion: 97% revenue share on sales made by instructors where the student purchases their course using an Instructor’s coupon or course referral link.
Udemy Organic: 50% revenue share on organic Udemy sales where no Instructor Coupon is used.

Paid User Acquisition Channel Sales: 25% instructor revenue share in most cases. In order to optimize sales, Udemy partners with affiliates or pays to advertise for courses.

NOTE: if you publish a Free Course, you get no commission from that.

Technically, you can price your course for as much as $199 (based on Udemy’s Price Matrix and Price standards). But the reality is that most courses are under $100 (with many sold at under $50).

So although you can potentially earn more income on Udemy, you face greater competition.

As you can see from this Skillshare vs. Udemy comparison, there’s potential to earn thousands of dollars of passive income each month through your Online Course(s). Udemy certainly offers a greater chance to earn more, but it does come at a price (more competition).

Skillshare vs. Udemy: Features and Benefits

Although Skillshare and Udemy share many of the same features and benefits, there are a few differences. Here are some of the main features and benefits of each platform:

Skillshare: The Main Features and Benefits

Low-cost monthly subscription for students (with the first 2 months free).
A smaller platform, meaning your online course gets greater visibility.
For each student you refer to Skillshare, you get a $10 referral fee.
Skillshare’s renowned for having great customer service (for both students and teachers).
A smaller, tight-knit community of students who are loyal to the platform.
Skillshare provides its students with offline access to courses.
A great resources section to help you build and promote your online courses.
Skillshare classes and courses are shorter and digestible by design.
There’s a strong focus on Project-Based learning, which enhances engagement.

Udemy: The Main Features and Benefits

Greater control over the pricing of your online course.
Udemy heavily promotes, advertises, and markets your courses.
A large community of 30+ million students.
The ability to create both free and paid courses (and link them to one another).
The chance to create Online Quizzes to create greater engagement with students.
Coupons and discounts available on courses, driving new traffic to you.
Udemy creates external partnerships with companies, helping to reach new audiences.
Action-based email campaigns help create greater engagement with students.
A wider selection of categories catering to almost any course creator.

Although both platforms offer a lot of important features and benefits, both fall short in a few areas.

Skillshare Cons:

The platform is aimed at creatives, which makes it less relevant for business, marketing, and personal development.
No certificates or accreditation for students who complete your course.
The inability to upload additional class resources or materials, such as workbooks or quizzes.

Udemy Cons:

Although Udemy does provide certificates to students, they’re not accredited.
There are A LOT of poor quality courses on Udemy, which can negatively affect perception.
As with larger platforms, customer service and communication isn’t great.

Many of the features in this Skillshare vs. Udemy comparison are similar to one another. They largely provide the same core benefits, mainly differing in how students access these courses.

Udemy = pay as you go
Skillshare = subscription-based

As such, the deciding factor for many course creators is the time it takes to set up, publish, and promote their course. Time dictates all, so just how easy is to create a course on Skillshare and Udemy?

Skillshare vs. Udemy: How To Create Your Course

Creating your online course on both Skillshare and Udemy is simple, yet each process differs. We’ll walk you through the general account set up for each now, as well as the steps you need to take to create your first course.

How To Create Your Course on Skillshare:

To begin with, you will need to create a new Skillshare account.

Once you’re signed in, the process can begin.

Step 1:

On the Home screen, click on Teach at the upper right and select Create a Class from the drop-down menu.

Step 2:

On the next screen, click the Start a Class button at the top right.

Step 3:

Next, click on Class Details and enter your class information: your Class Language, Class Title, Class Description, and Project Description.

Step 4:

Use the drop-down menus to enter your Class Category, Level and Class Skills tags. When all the fields are filled, save your class information.

Step 5:

Next, click on Video Lessons on the left and start the process of adding your videos.

On average, Skillshare Classes last between 20 and 60 minutes. Yet it’s advised that you split this into smaller 2 to 3 minute videos (your class must be at least 10 minutes in length).

Unlike other course platforms, you cannot upload additional class resources, run quizzes, or publish audio descriptions/interviews. The focus is solely on video, which is a benefit for many course creators.

Step 6:

Once you’ve created and built your first Class, click Submit and make sure everything looks and works as it should do. Once complete, your Class layout will look something like this:

In terms of speed and ease, Skillshare certainly makes your life easy. Without the worry of additional resources and creating materials for each video, you can quickly create and upload your Classes.

So, how does this compare to Udemy?